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Kurdistan - The Other IraqFrom SourceWatchThe Kurdistan—The Other Iraq campaign, managed by the Kurdistan Development Corporation (KDC), first "launched on US television networks and print media in the week beginning Monday, November 7th 2005," according to a November 28, 2005, KDC news release. [1] (http://www.kurdistancorporation.com/theotheriraq1.html)

"The campaign includes a message of thanks from the people of Iraqi Kurdistan to the people of America for their role in the liberating of Iraq and continues with information on the relative security and investment potential of the Region. Ms Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Chairman of the KDC spent a week in Washington being interviewed on US networks and radio," the news release said.

In late July 2006, the Kurdish Regional Government (http://www.krg.org/) in Northern Iraq commenced running the television ad campaign again in both the United States and the UK. The campaign is "aimed at attracting potential US and British investors to the region," the Turkish online publication Hürriyet reported (http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/4824877.asp?gid=74) July 27, 2006. The US public relations firm Russo Marsh & Rogers "is responsible for the ads, which were put together in coordination with the Northern Iraqi Kurdish led government."

Russo Marsh & Rogers also "founded the 'Stop Michael Moore' campaign to discredit the film Fahrenheit 9/11 and a group called 'Move America Forward', which has brought parents of dead soldiers to be counter-protesters at peace demonstrations," Aaron Glantz wrote (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34168) July 31, 2006, for Inter Press News Service.

"The firm has also brought right-wing talk-show hosts to Iraq" on a "Truth Tour" "to tell 'the good news that the old-line liberal news media won't tell you about'," Glantz wrote.

Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, co-chairman of a bipartisan commission studying Washington’s Iraq policy, will release his panel’s alternative to the “stay-the-course” strategy next month. If partitioning Iraq into three countries is presented as an alternative, then the White House should earnestly consider and pursue the idea. This course of action will salvage Americans’ faith in the Iraq policy, and will be in the Iraqi people’s best interest.

The current “stay-the-course” policy has utterly failed. Insurgent activities are escalating, sectarian clashes are intensifying, the Iraqi people’s suffering is worsening, the loss of American lives is climbing, and war expenditures are rising. The existing plan to pursue terrorists until each one of them is captured or killed has proven unworkable. On the other hand, the United States’ military departure from Iraq would be ominous for the entire Middle East, calamitous to the Iraqi people, and a clear proclamation of the failure of American foreign policy. Slicing Iraq into three countries is the only viable plan that will pacify the majority of Iraq and promise the US success in Iraq.

The lack of security, sectarian violence and insurgencies are the main ailments plaguing the Iraqi people. And that’s only the beginning, considering the precarious nature of the serious and real threat of a wider civil war breaking out. But if Iraq were divided into three countries – a Shiite nation in the south, Kurdish in the north, and Sunni Arab in the middle – this would solve many of the current host of problems and obviate the threat of civil war.

How would the division of Iraq bring an end to the activities of insurgents? Consider the present traveling arrangements in Iraq. The Iraqis, by virtue of their citizenship, are at liberty to travel anywhere within their country. This means an entire terrorist cell or their members can travel freely within Iraq, and allows weapons, ammunition, and needed funds to be transferred from one place to another. Most dangerously, it gives terrorists the ability to organize and recruit across the region. It is widely known that the source of the problem emanates from the central part of the country. Narrowing the realm of the problem requires the seclusion of the Sunni Arabs in central Iraq. Partitioning Iraq is the most efficacious way to achieve this. Once Iraq is partitioned, borders would then be drawn, and border security would hinder illicit traveling since a passport would be required.

The partitioning of Iraq would also help decrease violence in Kurdistan. The present chaos in both Kirkuk and Mosul are largely engendered by the hundreds of thousands of Saddam’s followers who were settled in these cities and their surroundings during the Arabization campaign. Once an independent Kurdistan is declared, the Kurds will gracefully deport Saddam's followers to their respective homelands. Unfortunately, the Iraqi government and the US have not taken this predicament seriously enough, and as a result it has persisted and drags on, but in an independent Kurdistan it will be dealt with expediently to prevent further bloodshed and restore justice and equity.

An all-out civil war would be thwarted by the creation of three separate countries. The Sunni Arabs would not be able to freely enter the Iraqi Shiites’ country nor Kurdistan due to border restrictions. At the same time, the menace of civil war between Kurds and Arabs would be averted since Kirkuk and Mosul’s problematic non-natives would be deported, and the small native Arab Sunni population will not pose a grave threat.

In the central region, the most chaotic in Iraq, there would remain some violence after the partitioning of Iraq. But terror organizations eventually will be a thing of the past since the Sunni land will be squeezed between Kurds and Shiites, cutting off Sunni insurgents from their suppliers, thus lessening their ability to reach the outside world for ammunitions and material support.

When talking about the division of Iraq, or in particular about Kurdish statehood, Iraq’s neighbors put up resounding objections, as if it’s their right to predestine the Iraqi people’s future, and plan for their political and social arrangements. Those opposed to partitioning Iraq are Syria and Iran, both of whom are US enemies. The other foe is Turkey which has proven itself to be an unreliable friend to the US and a liability. America should not sell out or ignore its best friend in the region, the Kurds, to appease its enemies or an unworthy friend.

Should Mr. Baker’s panel be thorough, one of the alternatives to current US-Iraq strategy they come up with will have to be the partitioning of Iraq into three countries. When that presents itself as a solution, President Bush should act upon it promptly. If he does, the legacy of failure in Iraq policy will be transfigured into undisputed success, one of Bush’s triumphant, estimable legacies that will duly inspire the Iraqi people, in particular the Kurds.

the democrats have a wide variety of ideas on the war in iraq…. from biden to clinton...that is not a strategy…

now americans will understand that “w” and his consiglieri “the baker” have the next operation for the mesopoetamian region and that the dems can really only go with the orders…and the dems should do what the president says next…or beware…now members of the congress can’t just blame the white house as americans will hold all parties accountable and not just the c in c…

there was an american vote for pressing the iraq war out of the obituary pages…because there is no confidence in the republicans who are gone…

and a warning to the democrats with no plan…

we now have “republican lite”…

pelosi wanted murtha’s withdrawal in the near future plan out there…sheepishly foxish…instead of an out-right cut and run…

“republican lite” will not toast this…no way to get all democrats on board.

pelosi and her crew better tread lightly on bush…they may not want to outrightly hand the presidency over to the republicans in 2008…impeachment…out…censure…out…holding out on money for iraq security strengthening missions…be careful.

face it…the democrats “no plan” is not a plan…and it will doom them in 2008…

Instead of naysaying…backpeddling…niggling negativity…and promoting the negativity as some plan…donkees should shout from the pulpits to the pres and defense secretary to stay the course but speed it up…listen to the Kurdish issue… support the baker’s dozen…but tie this up.

but the "no plan" seems to be cut and run…if they come up with a plan that isn’t cut and run and it does not succeed they will be seen as the “no national defense party" or the “we can’t keep you safe party”

then if the democrats war with each over what non-existent plan to push…this favors an elephant in the white house…

if the plan fails…perhaps goodbye usa in persian gulf…and that non-plan will be directly to blame…and those deciders on that non-plan plandemocrats will be like dinosaurs…

Let bush and his crew deal with war…and be careful…it may take a bakers dozen to keep the donkees safe…bush “the decider” makes that 13.

they better pray it is not just for now…

even if nancy and ted can't pray...the new "republican lite" will be doing it for them...